A Pawn's Perspective

Stepping Down from Purple Pawn

Back in October of 2009, Yehuda Berlinger asked for contributors to his tabletop news site, Purple Pawn. I figured, “why not?” and shot him off an email saying I’d be interested. Shortly after that, I posted my first article on the site. Over the next 7 years and 9 months, I posted 1,440 articles. I went from being a Contributor to an Editor, helping out not only by posting articles but on the technical end of the site as well. I also saw the site change hands to its current Owner, David Miller, met many amazing people, played too many awesome games to count, and attended some really awesome events/conventions.

Fast forward to April 2016. Just a little over a year ago I started A Pawn’s Perspective as an outlet to post overflow game reviews and to take a look at other awesome stuff that didn’t fall into Purple Pawn’s scope. Back then I never expected the site to take off like it has. Soon A Pawn’s Perspective was taking up most of my free time, and I started posting to Purple Pawn less and less. I felt a bit guilty.

I’ve spent the past couple of months coming to a very difficult decision. That decision was to step down from Purple Pawn and focus purely on A Pawn’s Perspective. It wasn’t easy. Purple Pawn has given me so many amazing experiences and opportunities over the years. They’ve sent me to Toy Fair, PAX East, and other, smaller conventions. They’ve helped me build lasting relationships with publishers. They’ve helped me make new and lasting friendships with people I would have never otherwise met. While Yehuda pulled me on, I owe a lot of that to David.

I love Purple Pawn. It’s an excellent site with its own unique content. Both David and Thomas Deeny, another fellow Pawn, are great people to work with. I’m actually hoping I can continue to work with them in the future on some joint projects between Purple Pawn and A Pawn’s Perspective.

In the end, I’d just like to say thanks to Yehuda for giving me a shot. Thanks to David for keeping me around, for providing such excellent opportunities, and being an overall great guy. Thanks to Purple Pawn for being the creative outlet I desperately needed for almost 8 years. I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am today without it.

Media personality Rob Kalajian has been a staple in the board game world for many years. As a former writer for Purple Pawn and the owner of A Pawn’s Perspective, Rob focuses on board game reviews, events, and news. A self-proclaimed geek, Rob loves all things toys and games and even helps raise his four kids in his spare time.